1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an arrangement for clearing a vehicle side-view mirror of water adhering to the reflective surface of the side-view mirror, and more particularly, to such an arrangement for use on large vehicles such as trucks, buses and other vehicles in which the mirror is separated from the vehicle body and/or positioned remotely from the driver side of the vehicle and out of reach from the driver.
2. Background of the Invention
On large trucks, side-view mirrors provide the only effective means for enabling the driver of the vehicle to observe traffic and related conditions on both sides and to the rear of the vehicle. While systems are readily available for removing rain water from vehicle windshields, side-view mirrors generally are not provided with such systems.
Unfortunately, because such side view mirrors are mounted in positions outwardly of the side view windows of the vehicle, they are also in a position exposed to the accumulation of snow, ice, mud, rain water and other foreign material on the reflecting surfaces. This is particularly true during inclement weather, the very time when use of the mirror becomes even more critical because during wet and rainy conditions, rain water adheres to the side-view mirror making it difficult to see the reflected image. Since large vehicles such as trucks do not have rear-view mirrors in the cab, the driver must rely solely on the side-view mirrors to see what is behind them and to make lane changes and the like. As a result, this lack of visibility results in safety concerns when driving in wet conditions.
While periodic cleaning of the mirrors ensures good visibility under normal driving conditions, it is difficult if not impossible for a driver to constantly keep the surface of the side-view mirrors clean during unfavorable driving conditions and when the vehicle is in motion, because the side-view mirrors of a large vehicle like a truck are separated from the vehicle body or positioned remotely from the driver side of the vehicle making it difficult for the driver to reach the mirror while driving to clean off any rain water adhering to the mirror surface. Also, these mirrors are high off of the ground, making it difficult to clean them when stopped at a truck stop. Moreover, during wet and rainy weather, the mirrors need to be cleaned quite often so stopping to repeatedly clean these mirrors is not really an option and cuts into profits due to the increased travel time.
There are arrangements for cleaning side-view mirrors such as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,580 to Mcintyre et al. which relates to an automobile windscreen cleaning device using high a velocity flow of air. As best seen in FIG. 1, a turbine 32 produces a high volume of high velocity air that is conducted by hoses 54, 55 to side-view mirrors 14, 16 respectively, to emit air upwardly over the surfaces of the mirrors to effect a cleaning and clearing action. However, this arrangement cannot be easily retro-fitted to existing vehicle configurations, requires the addition of a turbine not normally found on passenger vehicles and is operationally inefficient for use to clear a side-view mirror of adhering rain water since the flow of air is upward over the surfaces of the mirror and counter to the pull of gravity.
Other known arrangements are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,134,612 and 4,196,930 respectively to Nelson and Busche, which relate to vehicle mirror cleaning devices which use air flow deflections to direct a stream of air across the face of the mirror and provide a cleaning effect but these arrangements are generally ineffective since the force of the stream of air is limited by the vehicle's speed. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,932,798 2,849,760 4.538,85 4,928,580, disclose vehicle windscreens or side-view mirror cleaning devices using wiper arrangements and are highlighted as an indication of the general state of the art.
Accordingly, the need has arisen for a means by which side-view mirrors on trucks and other large vehicles can be easily and effectively cleared of rain water during inclement weather in a quick, easy and effective manner without the need for the driver to stop repeatedly to manually wipe the mirrors, thus improving driving safety for all on the road.